Kurdistan’s Weekly Brief August 1

Turkey

The People’s Democratic Party (HDP) held rallies in Azmir and Diyarbakir under the slogan of “No to Coups, Democracy Right Now”. The HDP’s Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtas headed the rally and gave speeches in both rallies.

Kurds continued their demonstrations across Europe to protest the isolation imposed on Kurdish Leader Abdullah Ocalan. Demonstrations took place in several cities of Germany and France. Meanwhile pro-Kurdish media outlets reported that Ocalan has been denied access to newspapers under a strict isolation policy at his prison in Imrali. Amid reports of an assassination plan against Ocalan since the failed coup attempt, Turkish judicial authorities continue denying access to İmralı and rejecting all the applications filed by his family and lawyers to meet with the Kurdish leader.

Syria

Manbij Liberation Operation: More than 1000 civilians have been rescued in the past week from Manbij after the liberation of several neighborhoods by the Manbij Military Council (MMC). Clashes are ongoing while ISIS continues to lose territory in the city to the MMC (a part of the larger Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). So far ISIS has lost more than half of its territory in Manbij. A video from Hawar news shows an example of a new strategy ISIS is employing to deter U.S.-led coalition airstrikes. The strategy involves burning houses in order to produce smoke to limit the visibility for any incoming aircraft. Currently, ISIS fighters are surrounded from all sides in city.
A twin blast carried out by ISIS occurred in a western neighborhood of Qamishli city resulting in the death of 50 people and the injuring of 145 people. Civilians and local security forces (Asayesh) were among the victims when two trucks exploded in the neighborhood. A Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) official blamed the Syrian regime for facilitating ISIS attacks in the city.
On July 30, the People’s Defense Units (YPG) media center stressed that the Syrian regime’s forces are trying to infiltrate into the Ashrafia Neighborhood in Aleppo, which is controlled by the YPG. “The dictatorial Baathist regime and their militias are trying to infiltrate Al Ashrafia neighborhood in Aleppo.” the YPG stated. “Our forces are ready to counter the.”

Iraq

ISIS launched an attack on the Bay Hassan oil field and killed four employees of the north oil company west of Kirkuk. Peshmerga were prevented from freeing a number of hostages when several suicide ISIS attackers exploded in the area. ISIS’s attack on the oil flied was the second attack in the past week since the terrorist group launchied an offensive on Peshmerga defense lines in Khazer, east of Mosul.
During a press conference in Erbil, The Turkish Consul General Mehmet Akif Inam called on the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to recognize the Hizmet Organization as “terrorist organization”. The Hizmet organization is owned by the Turkish Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen. The Hizmet organization owns several schools in the Kurdistan region.
Fuad Hussein, chief of staff to the Kurdistan Region Presidency, held the second round of meetings to address the region’s political crises with the region’s various political parties. He provided little detail about the meetings beyond stating that they were “positive”.

Iran

During a visit to the Middle East Research Institute (MERI), the General Secretary of the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI) stated that his party is committed to peace, stability, and prosperity in the region through political means. The KDPI resumed its armed struggle in June of 2016.
The Kurdish political parties request Members of European Union countries to help stop Iranian human rights abuses against Kolber workers. The Kurdish parties stated ” The central government sees no interest in investing in the Kurdish area, leaving the Kurds in Iran economically deprived.”